Marriage was Made for More

Last night, Will and I we went to an event called Marriage was Made for More with some friends from the church we go to in Charlotte. Our Pastor, David Chadwick and his wife, along with John and Laura Kasay, shared some Do's and Don'ts that they found to be helpful in building a stronger Christ-filled relationship with your significant other and also gave some great advice for those hoping to marry! I took what I felt to be good notes and thought I'd share some of those with y'all this morning.

It's not all about lining up the facts and it doesn't really matter "winning" the argument.
I often struggle with this one. It's not that I desire to have the last word in an argument, rather, I like to give the facts and make them known. I've realized this and plan to continue working on it, but I'm not perfect and neither is Will! Knowing this and remembering that during arguments will be key to  more successful outcomes.

Conflict is OK.
What couple do you know that has a perfect relationship? How many people do you know who say they don't fight with their significant other? I can't think of anyone, and if I knew of someone who said they were living a "happily ever after", I would just have to shack my head in utter disbelief. It's just not true. Conflict is perfectly fine and can be healthy for a relationship. Don't believe me? eHarmony seems to feel that every relationship NEEDS conflict! Go read the article for yourself.

"Marriage is the graduate school of servanthood."
I just love this quote that David Chadwick shared with us. Simple as that! 

Continue to date each other.
You have probably heard of the saying "I feel like we are already an old married couple" right? When I hear that, I think about a couple that does the same ole' things each and every day. Life together gets dull and the chemistry just isn't as strong as it once was. Whether you have been together for a few months, or a number of years, dating each other and keeping your relationship "fresh" is vital! Have one on one time regularly doing something fun together.

Keep a Thankful List.
John shared this one and I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner! It happens to every one of us though. We take those that we are closest to for granted and when we argue, we often doubt the relationship and may even start to question every little thing that we face. At least for me I have done this before. But what would happen if you had a list of all the things you were thankful for regarding your significant other? Would your focus on all the negative things change? I am going to try this and the next time Will and I butt heads, I am going to look at my Thankful List and see if my perspective is put back in line. I'll let you know how it works!

Pray and serve together.
Another important one. David Chadwick said that it's hard to be mad at someone you are praying for. That couldn't be any truer for me! Praying together and for one another is something that Will and I (overtime) have gotten so good at doing. Not only does prayer work, but it's something that takes practice and should become an everyday and natural thing. When I was first learning about prayer, I read A Praying Life by Paul Miller and it changed my praying life for the better.

Serving together is another key aspect to a healthy and successful Christ-centered relationship and something that Will and I have not done enough of yet. While serving, you get to see your significant others true colors shine through and how wonderful does it make you feel to see them doing good for others? It's contagious!

Surround yourself around people who want your relationship to work. 
For years, I surrounded myself with friends who didn't want to see my relationships work out. They were either jealous that I was in a relationship or didn't want to see me happy. Whatever the reason, those are not the type of people I want to be around.

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Rest

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Good Morrrrning! Today i'm gonna keep this post short and sweet. This past weekend I took things slow. Why? Because I had the stomach virus again and decided that maybe I haven't been giving my body the amount of rest it's needed. And even though I had a million things I wanted to accomplish, I made sure to take care of myself first! Will also did an excellent job checking on and taking care of me while I laid in bed and lounged on the couch most of the weekend (major boyfriend bonus points right there).

It's hard to always realize and accept that fact that its okay to rest. Resting doesn't mean you are lazy. And its not always fun. I get that! But everyone needs it. Each and every one of us needs to take time to pause and recollect, especially at the pace of life we live.

But in the mist of my downtime, I was able to sneak in a few hours of Downtown Abbey and the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics! What did ya'll think of the opening ceremony? Are you excited to watch any of the competitions this year?

And don't forget to enter the giveaway to win (15 hours left to go) the above Grateful Heart gold foil print from the B is for Bonnie Shop! I bought this print for myself and have it hanging by my front door at home. It's a great reminder of having a heart that is grateful for all things, and I mean, come on...it's pretty adorable and perfect to win around Valentine's Day! Good luck!

It's All About You: Charlotte Edition

It really IS all about you when you go to get your hair done or enjoy a spa day at All About You in Charlotte, NC. From the minute you drive down East Blvd., you will quickly spot a pastel green house with a polka dot banner and will immediately feel the warmth the resonates inside without even realizing it's happening. Let me start out by telling you about this Company and why it was 'love at first appointment'.

All About You is a Christ centered salon and day spa that opened its doors in 2002 by Patsy and Shannon Tucker, who also happen to be mother and daughter. It's not everyday that you find a Christ based establishment, so when it was recommended to me by a gal in my LifeGroup, I knew I had to check it out. So I made a hair appointment, and after browsing their website, found out they also do facial treatments, hair removal, nails, massage therapy and wedding preparations.

It was an early Saturday morning when I went to get my hair done, but I found myself so eager to get out the car to head on inside to my hair appointment. When I opened the door and got inside, I was greeted by a lady at the front desk and couldn't believe at how bright and cheerful everything and everyone was. I signed in, put my jacket and purse down and found myself wandering around looking at the jewelry they had setup by the front door and the wall of Bumble and Bumble hair products they had on display.

My experience was amazing and my expectations were met to the T right from the start. My stylist Heather was the best, and come to find out we both go to Forest Hill Church! It's easy to say I enjoyed my first Charlotte hair appointment a little to much! If you are in the area, you MUSTTTT check this place out! I can pretty much promise that you won't be let down.

*NOTE - I was in no way compensated for this post. The words and opinions are all my own.

B is for Bonnie

You know when you are on the hunt for a particular item, and randomly come across something that's even better then what you were looking for to begin with? Well, that's what happened to me when I was doing some online shopping, looking for a canvas print to hang in my office at work. Instead of finding what I originally had in mind, I came across b is for bonnie, a shop filled with lovely gold foil prints, all created by a sweet gal named Bonnie Bakhtiari (who is also the owner and designer of this amazing shop)!

Bonjour!

Blush & Gold Heart (also available in white)

"Never settle. You are capable of incredible things."

And today, YOU my dear could win my favorite print of them all; the "Grateful Heart" print which is back and ready for grabs! Bonnie and I were talking and I couldn't agree more with her on the sentiment that's behind the print and it truly is such a relevant reminder for us all to keep in mind! Enter the giveaway below! You have until next week to enter so help spread the word and enter NOW. Goodluck, sweethearts :)

Grateful Heart 

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Weekend Recap

Dear weekend,

Thanks for stopping by. It was great having you, as always. Thanks for your longer-seeming days, your leisurely meals I get to enjoy, and the way you make me forget about work for a little while. Your something I always enjoy.

Weekends are something I am sure EVERYONE looks forward to, not just myself I hope. This weekend was nothing less of spontaneous and fun. Friday after work, I went home and did a quick cleaning around the condo. Around 7:00, Will called and told me he was on his was home from work and to get ready for dinner. We ventured on over to Paco's Tacos were the food was nothing less of delicious, and everyone was right; the margaritas were some kind of good! After a great meal and lots of catching up, Will and I headed over to Harris Teeter to get some snacks and picked up the movie Rush on Redbox to watch back at home. Friday was pretty perfect I'd have to say... 

On Saturday, I woke up, ate breakfast and then went to get my hair done. Afterwards, I went back home and picked up Will and ran a handful of errands together. After a few hours of checking things off our lists, we decided we wanted something really good for lunch. Will had never been to The Cheesecake Factory so I insisted we had to go! We dined on pizza and chicken with rice and finished our meal with cheesecake of course (Fresh Strawberry for Will and Adam's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple for me).

You can imagine that after a busy morning and afternoon (with full bellies from lunch) we felt the need to go home to nap and prepare ourselves for another fun evening of a "dinner and a movie" date night together (those are Will and I's favorite kind of nights to spend together recently). We rested up, and then drove over to Luciano's for dinner. I was there on Thursday for the Charlotte Social meet-up and enjoyed the food so much that I just HAD to go back as soon as I could! After dinner, we went to Target to look around and then went home and watched an episode or two of Downton Abbey!

Sunday, we slept in and then made a quick run to Dunkin' Donuts before going back home to watch our church service from the living room (thank you Forest Hill for streaming live)! We talked about the sermon, prayed together and then put together a shelf to go over Will's desk. Before we knew it, it was time to head over to Will's sisters to watch the first half of the Super Bowl. 

Ariel and Mark prepared a great meal for everyone and time with Will's family was just what we needed! I can't express in words how important these people are to Will and I, and being able to watch the Super Bowl with them was the "icing on our weekend". After halftime, Will and I made one more stop by my friend Allison's place to watch the second half of the game with her and her boyfriend. Yet again, we enjoyed great company and more amazing food! Our weekend was ending, and we were extremely pleased with how it turned out.